November

(27 November 2023): Team formation

All members of our team were chosen

(29 November 2023): Our first informal meeting

We met up in a local cafe to get to know each other

December

(6 December 2023): Our first formal meeting

In our first meeting we chose themes that we were most interested in:

• Food and nutrition
• Diagnostics
• Therapeutics
• Personal health/women’s health
• Drugs and drug delivery

We split into small groups to research these themes and come up with a list of ideas. We also discussed everyone’s skills and interests and their main motivation for joining iGEM and from there gained a better picture of who would be responsible for what aspect of the project.

(13 December 2023): Our second meeting

A delegation from each subteam reported back on their findings and we built upon those ideas. Our PIs then informed us that the subteam model was not a good idea for the early stages, so the subteam model was dissolved, however we continued to build upon the ideas that we had already.

January

January was an exam period, so we were brainstorming ideas on our own and preparing for our exams

February

(14 February 2024): Our third meeting

After researching in individual groups and brainstorming a variety of ideas for our project, we finally decided on what will later be known as "E.Lectrode"!

(21 February 2024): Our first team building

We met up to play the ultimate team building exercises, such as mafia and card games

March

(2 March 2024): Our fourth meeting

We posted recruitment flier to encourage other iGEM teams to collaborate on our project and we have created a possible first draft of our team’s mascot/logo.

Also, we created a link tree to all iGEM socials and we created our email account.

All members of our team were allocated to the following teams: wet lab, dry lab, human practices and wiki development.

(6 March 2024): We met up to take individual and group photos for our social media.

Specific roles were assigned for each team member

Also, we came up with several project ideas: Arachnobacter, Cyber-SPili, Electro-Spili, spiderSENSE, E-rachnid and Silktronics

(13 March 2024): We applied for iGEM mentorship

We had a meeting, where we decided on our project name "spiderSENSE" and chose our villages:

• Therapeutics
• Diagnostics
• Biomanufacturing

(16 March 2024)

Several of our team mebers have attended webinar about Kernel, where we learnt that Kernel is a program for creating plasmids

April

(25 April 2024): First human practices meeting

We met with Robert Meckin, Philip Shapira and Claire Holland from the Manchester Innovation Centre The key points from this meeting are:

• Exploring alternative uses for our nanowires, like using them for brain-machine interfaces, ECG electrodes, or hearing aids, rather than focusing only on prosthetics.
• Before focusing on prosthetics, consult with doctors, clinics, and prosthetic users to identify real needs and potential issues.
• If the product is not cheaper, it needs to offer significant improvements in functionality or user experience to be commercially viable.
• Don’t narrow the focus to prosthetics too early. There may be better applications in other areas like cochlear implants, spinal injuries, or even veterinary uses.
• Expand outreach to include a wider range of contacts in healthcare and research, and work on comparing the conductivity of the nanowires with existing technologies to determine feasibility.

May

May was mainly exam peiod so we mostly did literature search and were brainstorming ideas and team names.

(5 May 2024): Fundraiser

We organized a fundraiser in collaboration with the Latin American society, where we sold baked goods and sweet bags. The event was a success, raising £197, which we donated to the charity Operation Smile as part of our collaboration used to help fund our trips to UK iGEM meetups.

June

(7 - 14 June 2024): Induction week

We started Induction week in the lab to get a basic grip of techniques we will be using in the future like restriction digest, PCR, miniprepping, making and using competent cells, concentration calculations and making up our own reagents for the first time.

July

July was an intense month where we were brainstorming experimental design, experimenting with different plasmids, primers, E. coli strains and our protocols in general.

(17 July 2024): Start of the lab experiments

We have finally started our lab experiments. We began with restriction digest and cloning.

(26 July 2024): UK teams iGEM meet up in Warwick

In Warwick, we had an incredible opportunity to meet and collaborate with other UK teams. We presented our poster and enjoyed seeing the innovative work of other teams as they showcased theirs. To top it off, we were thrilled to win both the bingo competition and the Lab Olympics! The experience was not only fun and engaging but also insightful, as we realized that many teams are tackling similar challenges and sharing our journey. It was an inspiring event that brought us closer to the wider scientific community.

August

(7 August 2024): Salford meeting

We arranged a meeting with two clinical prosthetics experts: Professor Washington, who specializes in lower limb prosthetics, and Professor Kirkwood, who works with both lower and upper limb (myoelectric) prosthetics. They found our project concept intriguing, though they acknowledged their limited expertise in biology and myoelectric systems. However, they provided valuable insights:

• The primary challenge with upper limb prosthetics is the excessive weight causing muscle fatigue and the difficulty in coordinating multiple articulations in the hand, elbow, and wrist.
• Other challenges that prosthetic users face are extensive trainings with occupational therapists. Also, heat and friction can cause skin problems like fungal infections, especially in heavy prosthetics.
• We also started to better understand how prosthetics are build and what materials they made of. It was a crucial point for us to understand how we can apply our product in the future
• Prosthetics and therefore our product must meet biocompatible requirements, such as materials must be hypoallergenic, cleanable, and resistant to heat retention to avoid sweating and discomfort. A good material interface is essential for prosthetic comfort and effectiveness.
• Moreover, we got a better understanding what impacts signal transmission in prosthetics: loss of electrode-skin contact, sweat, poorly fitting sockets, and misplacement of electrodes.
• We were recommended to reach out to Reach UK and Alex Chadwell at Newcastle for further research and potential collaboration.

(7 August 2024): Meeting with BAPO

British Association of Prosthetists and Orthotists (BAPO) is dedicated to enhance standards of prosthetic and orthotic care. We reached out to them to gain deeper insights into the experiences of prosthetic users and explore ways to enhance their overall experience. The key points from this meeting are:

• The main barriers for prosthetic use are discomfort, cost, and difficulty in daily use. Also, children prefer not to wear upper limb prosthetics.

September

(7 - 8 September 2024): UK iGEM meetup in Sheffield

At Sheffield, we had the incredible opportunity to lead an educational activity during the university's open day, which earned us the award for the best education activity. We also presented our project to refine it for the upcoming Jamboree and listened to other teams present. Additionally, we attended some captivating talks organized by the Sheffield team. Overall it was a fun and helpful experince for us.

(25 September 2024): The end of lab

As the academic year began, we shifted our focus from completing lab work to concentrating more on write-ups and our studies.